A Spike of Life
by BelieveForMe
Summary: SasuSaku pre-school to highschool. It was funny, now that she thought about it. How she was just this close to not joining the volleyball team, how she was this close to not falling in love. But she did join. She did fall in love. Volleyball was to blame.
1. Chapter 1

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A little short story I made cause I was bored...

**Disclaimer** - I once saw a chicken... And it reminded me of Sasuke's chicken butt hairdue... It also reminded me of how I don't own Naruto... -sigh-

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_Chapter 1 _

**A Spike of Life **

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It was my first year in highschool, and I entered through the doors feeling anything _but_ brave. Nervous, jumpy, lazy, scared, lazy and, oh did I mention lazy? The first day is always hard. After 3 months of sleeping in, pigging out and no homework, who wouldn't be lazy? I don't think anyone would be hyped up to go back to school after 3 months of pure relaxation. 

I sighed as I raked a hand through my hair, flattening it out as I took a quick glance at the side view mirror before getting out of the car. "See you mom." I said with a nervous smile before slamming the door shut.

And one thing that didn't help my _oh so joyful_ attitude towards my first day of highschool was standing right infront of me.

The fatal group reunions.

Just after taking my first step onto the school grounds, I was immediately surrounded by many of my middle school classmates and their hugs.  
The 'Omg!Wehaven'tseeneachothersincesummer hug' to be exact.

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**How to master the 'Omg!Wehaven'tseeneachothersincesummer hug.' :**

Step 1 - Tackle your unsuspecting prey into a deadly, suffocating hug.

Step 2 - Continue to squeeze the life out of your victim until they manage to rasp something out.

Step 3 - Don't give them any chance to say anything as you jump up and down like a idiot on sugar.

Step 4 (MOST IMPORTANT STEP) - Take a deep breath and ask/yell (30 percent ask, 70 percent yell) "OMG insert name here I MISSED YOU! HOW HAVE YOU BEEN? HOW WAS YOUR SUMMER?!"

If you were able to complete these four steps, congratulations, you've successfully mastered the art of the 'Omg!Wehaven'tseeneachothersincesummer' hug.

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_And the art of being the newest member of my forever growing, hit list _

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I felt dizzy from the lack of air. But I manage the rasp out that I couldn't breathe before the person hugging me stopped just in the nick of time before he/she (most likely she) dislocated my lungs. I was finally able to breathe again. Oh the holly blessed air! 

"Sakura! I missed you! How have you been?"

_Don't remove that smile from your face Sakura! Whatever you do, DO NOT remove the smile! Although you can lose the eye twitch. _It took me a few moments to think in my head (without removing the smile), do I know this girl from somewhere?

Ah. Now I remember, I think I had a class with her in grade 8. Kin was her name... I think...

_Welcome, Kin... You're the newest member on Haruno Sakura's hit list!_

Still, I couldn't risk calling her the wrong name, so I went with the flow as my forced smile widened. "Great! Same with you! How was your summer?" I'd ask back in the same annoying girly tone, making sure to replace her name (atleast what I think her name is) with the word 'you'.  
Ah, I think thats my favorite word now. 'You'. It sure saves me both time and brain cells. Instead of saying, "Hey, insert some random really really really really really long name here." I could just say, "Hey, you."

Ah, 8 seconds of my dull, boring life spared.  
I wonder, will I be able to win the lottery in that 8 seconds I've managed to save?

I broke out of my train of thought before I looked like an idiot staring at the person infront of me with a stupid smile on my face. (Choo choo choo BAM!)

_ Exploded train of thought on aisle 3._

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The whole hugging phase had gone on until the warning bell went off. After that, everyone scurried into the school, desperately trying to new their new class before the morning announcements went on. Thank god the uncomfortable hugging phase was over with!

Surprisingly, my brain was done with summer vacation this morning. A working brain equals me thinking properly. And me thinking properly equals me coming to school a bit earlier to find my classes. Yay me. So, getting lost was no big deal for me, at least not today. It was the people in the class that got me worrying. You see, this highschool was the main highschool for many of the middle schools in the neighborhood. And so, that means that my school's grade 8 graduates aren't the only people there. And that meant more introductions and the process of making new friends. Shouldn't be that hard, right? Everything should be fine, as long as I don't screw up. Right?

Right?

Agree with me dammit! Give a girl some confidence!

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"Ohayo, Sakura-desu. Doozo yoroshiku." (1)

So, my introduction didn't turn out too bad. Nothing too fancy, but, it still works. I gave a quick bow to the class, putting on my best smile. My eyes scanned the room, matching familiar faces with names.

Blond, blue eyes, goofy grin. The boy who still acts like a 10 year old, Naruto.  
Brown hair and eyes, a familiar wave and smile, TenTen.  
Pearl eyes, shy, small smile, kindest person I'll ever meet, Hinata.  
Quiet, calm, and somewhat of a gentleman, Neji.  
Sleeping, yawning, pineapple head. The lazy but dependable, Shikamaru.  
Blond, confident smile, aqua blue eyes, my ever loyal friend, Ino.

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Raven hair, coal black eyes, confusing, mysterious, stupid, annoying, overconfident smirk.

The most conceited jerk I'll ever love.

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Uchiha Sasuke.

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I gave another small smile before processing to my assigned seat. Introductions went on until the last student stood up. And so my first day of highschool began.

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Class continued, it probably wouldn't be as bad if I wasn't sitting beside...

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Wait.

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Let me rephrase that; sitting BETWEEN, two gushing girls that can't stop giggling at Sasuke for a split second. I sighed in relief when our homeroom teacher, Kakashi-sensei told the class to quiet down. The grey haired man held a small pile of papers in his hands as he made his way to one side of the class. He started passing them to each person that sat in the front of the rows, telling them to take one and pass the rest back. I quickly dug through my back pack, looking for my pencil case. Taking out my favorite lead pencil I tapped the desk with the end of my pencil to keep me busy. In a matter of minutes, a white sheet of paper was placed ontop of my desk. Quickly scanning over the sheet, I started filling in the answers.

1. **Name?** Haruno Sakura.

2. **Favorite subject?** _Hm... This is a hard one... _History.

I shook my head as I quickly erased my previous answer.

2. **Favorite subject? **Gym. Definitely, gym.

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I smiled as soon as I quietly read the 3rd question in my head.

**Whats your favorite sport? Why?  
**

_Piece of cake. (Mmm. cake...)_

_My answer?_

Volleyball.

_Why? _

She tapped the end of the pencil against her mouth in a thinking manner.

_Lets see...  
_

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It all started back when we were both in preschool. The very first day of preschool to be exact. The time when someone could become your best friend in a matter of minutes after successfully building a sand castle together in that little sandbox everyone loved. 

I was attending my first year of school, much like everyone else.  
However, unlike everyone else, I didn't know how to speak Japanese.

You see, my family had just moved from Canada, back to our homeland in Japan. And no one in my family was fluent in Japanese. Other then my older sister of course. (Even though she wasn't the best, she still knew more then my parents who only spoke English)

But like all siblings, fighting was more common then teaching and helping each other. Even though I was only 5 at the time, and my sister was turning 10 the following month, we were engaged into many fights.  
Our _'till the very end'_ fights were usually silly agruments over who got the last cookie, who took the red crayon, or who got to pick the channel while watching tv.

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Since I couldn't speak Japanese, I wasn't able to communicate with my classmates. Thus, no friends. Yup. No friends, not one. Loner Sakura. I remember how thankful I felt when I found out no one else had friends too.

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Yet.

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But like the typical first day of pre-school, we were expected to introduce ourselves to the rest of the class. And thank kami-sama, I at least knew how to introduce myself in Japanese.

One by one, we each stood up and called out our names. With a goofy grin I might add. No blushing, no shyness, just a cute little face, loving everyone's attention.

And sometimes I just can't help but wish that I could go back in time and live through my pre-school years again. The years of my childhood when no one cared how they acted, or how they looked. Everyone was just themselves, and we were damn proud of it too. Who wouldn't be? Especially when your mom would dress you up in that little frilly strawberry dress, exclaiming how cute you looked while putting a few matching clips in your hair.

Not that you actually understood any word she would say other then, "Your so cute!"

Its just too bad we all had to grow up, eh?

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I stood up when it was my turn, I was the only one that didn't jump up with excitement and a goofy grin. Instead, I took my time, feeling my knees shake as I caught sight of my eager classmates, all staring, waiting for me to talk. I inhaled shaky breath and carefully pronounced my name. "O-Ohayo... _Wat-ashi... no na-mae wa_ Har-uno Sakura." **(My name is Haruno Sakura)** It was hard enough for me to say that one sentence in Japanese, but I somehow managed to say it without screwing up too badly. And the whole introducing thing went on until the last boy in the class stood up. Like me, he didn't jump up with a smile, however, unlike me, he wasn't hesitant and shy.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Nice to meet you."

He was calm and collective.

And for some reason, those two words stuck in my head the whole day.

_Uchiha Sasuke..._

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Did I mention, the reason I moved back to Japan was so my parents could reunite with my other family members? Including my cousins. And did I mention I had a lot of cousins? And when I mean a lot, I mean A LOT. 

And no, surprisingly their not all little pink haired freaks like myself. Wouldn't you think they'd all be green eyed with pink hair like myself? I thought so, but no, they were not all cursed with the worlds oddest hair and eye color combination.

So anyways, back to the cousin business. Most of my cousins were around my age. Some a few years older, and some younger. However, I had 4 cousins that were born the same year as me. And the best news? All four of them were guys.

Yup, all four of them.

Boys.

Ew.

Cooties.

But, the cooties didn't come until grade 3. So back to my kindergarten years. Almost everyday after I finished my homework, which consisted of coloring INSIDE the lines, and learning to master the art of the stick people. I usually went outside.

And dare I add, that all four of my cousins lived beside me?

But anyways, it didn't matter then. What mattered back then was being a good girl, eating cookies (they were kinda hard to bite back then...), ice cream, and having fun.

And because the four cousins that lived beside me were guys, their definition of 'fun' was playing soccer (more like running away from the ball when it came close to you), playing badminton (if only we weren't shorter then the racket itself) and attempting to play basketball. Which in my opinion, the orange ball was too bouncy for its own good.

So yes, my childhood consisted of playing sports all day and getting hurt the day after from a evil, bouncy orange ball chasing after me.

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But, surprisingly, playing sports did do me some good in life. You see, as I continued to play sports with the four cousins, each of us pushed each other to become better while having fun (and occasionally running away from the ball). And because of that, dolls didn't exist in my world. Only playing sports.

And it just so happened, playing sports was a thing a lot of guys did in my school during grade 1 (when we finally got the hang of running instead of crawling on our knees). So, instead of playing tea party and dress up during recess, I ran around the lush fields with the guys.

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Guys meaning, including Uchiha Sasuke.

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Did I mention he was really good at sports? And when I mean really good, I mean REALLY good.

"Sakura!"

"G-got it!"

Both of us learned that we made a good team together. Him with his speed and me with my aim. Everyday at recess, I'd take my spot infront of the net, while he'd run through the field, pass the other team members while still managing to control the soccer ball. And when he was close enough, he'd pass the ball to me, and I'd kick it in.

We were an amazing team.

Even though he did most of the work.

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I smiled as I walked over to the raven haired boy, who was currently bent over his paper, coloring his picture before the bell rang. Bending down to his head level, I studied his drawing, which consisted of the best stick people and 2-D houses I've ever seen. I turned my head towards him, smiling as I continued to watch him from a close distance. "You coming to play ball today?" I asked in a cute manner. _If I do say so myself!_

Sasuke took a single glance off of his sheet as he smirked at my question. "You bet."

And thats when my friendship with Uchiha Sasuke began.

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**(A.N)** Another cute little story about SasuSaku pre-school and then onwards (middle school and then highschool) This was suppose to be my birthday fic to you guys, but I ended up finishing Feelings Unspoken before I finished this. I'm estimating about 3/4 more chapters. Its just going to be something to write on when I have free time and such. It has a very light mood around it. And yes, volleyball has something to do with this story! Hence the title; a SPIKE of life : P

**Thanks for reading! Check out Feelings Unspoken too! **

**Please leave a review?**

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	2. Taking a break

Hey guys.. This isn't a chapter (as you might have noticed) its a farewell note :)

I'll be taking a break from fanfiction... I'm planning maybe half a year, might be shorter, might be longer. But yeah...

Its just been really busy for me lately. I haven't been on fanfiction for about a month now. I'm behind on all the stories that are on my favorite list (the stories that inspired me to write in the first place) and I have a writters block for almost every single story I've written so far. Its really really bad.

I just feel as though I left too many open stories, and I can't finish them all. So I'm taking a break, and when I come back, I'll most likely be starting a new account all together, cause I want a fresh start. I wrote stories for my own enjoyment but theres just too much pressure on me updating now that I can't enjoy it...

Now don't think just because I'm taking a break means I'll stop writting all together. No no! While I'm on my break, I'll still be writting, it'll just be saved onto my computer instead of posted on fanfiction. And once I feel I've written enough chapters/stories, I'll come back from my break and post them up in a more orgainized manner.

My account will still be up while I'm on my break (if that does anything to lift the disappointment off your shoulders) And when I come back, I'll update my stories again with an accouncement that I finished my break, and the name of my new account (which is still undecided).

Sorry about this guys. But I really need it. I hope you all understand.

See you all next 6 months. I hope everyone has a fun summer break. Don't worry! Theres loads of other stories out there much better then mine! And I've had many new stories on my mind thats beening drafted into words, so theres lots to look forward to! I promise, this break will be better for both of us!

I'll miss everyone. Thanks for all the support you guys have given me up until now.

- Jen


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